It was just like before.

The shadows moved through the forest with the grace and fluid ease that was their birthright. From thick branch to tree trunk, the two larger shadows leaped, only the occasional bird taking to the air witness to their passage. The sounds of far off battle were louder now, and individual explosions more distinct. It was the sounds of war, and they were fast approaching it.

Finally, one signaled to the other to take a quick rest.

Perched on the same sturdy tree trunk, high above the forest floor, they caught their breath. Slowly, one of them reached behind and held a third shadow closely. Its head lowered, caught one of the shafts of light from above, and a long lock of dark orange hair fell forward only partly concealing one blue eye. Dark lashes blinked, and the female ex-shadow looked down at the bundle in her arms.

"Is it wise to take him with us, Eblis? He is still so young."

The other shadow grunted a response.

"Moma?" Black eyes looked up at her, and a hand, tufted with orange fur, reached for her own. She looked to the other shadow, features momentarily hidden.

Still in the darkness, the other figure slowly shook his head. "You know we could not, Aurora. He had power within him. I am not the only one who knows it. Who… feels it, like a fire in my bones, like ice in my mind…"

The other shadow sighed and nodded.

"Now." The male of the pair tensed to jump. "Let's get moving. Our target is close enough for me to smell his stink..."

Memories.

"You brought this upon yourself!"

Chained. Broken. Unbeaten.

"No prison may contain me! I will escape."

The vast chamber is aglow with energy; the life energy of tens of thousands, consumed in The Binding. Their souls encircled his wrists, his ankles, his legs, his arms, his throat, his wings… their hate and their agony bound him. Torrents of chaos energy swirled like the sea, buffeting the walls of the vast chamber; vast enough to swallow a small mountain.

"Time…?" A shadowed form, indistinct but indescribably imposing, held one hand up between them. "That is something you do not have. For your crimes, and your betrayal, I shall seal you within this tomb of your own making… The souls of your victims will be your jailer, and you shall remain here, forever, imprisoned between time."

He just laughed at the threat, mouth full of razor teeth and toxic fumes.

"Then do it, my old Master. And I shall return the favor. Your tomb will be your world!"

"Such a shame." The indistinct figure closed his hand into a fist. "You had so much… promise…"

Ethereal steel pierced his wrists, his chest, his face, pinning him to the great sarcophagus. Light filled the chamber, cutting and twisting in a thousand different colors and directions. For a moment there was only blinding light and the endless howling of the slain… and then darkness and silence as the lib closed, entombing him completely.

Hung high above Never Lake, the Little Planet screamed and vanished.

No, not mine…

The male shadow led the pair.

When the time came, it was his responsibility to get their trophy. His mate needed only cover his back and mind the little one. They were doing this; he was doing this, for him after all – for his young heir. It would be terribly inconvenient if the brat were to die after all his parents' hard work. Oh, they could have another, but there would be no guarantee that he would be as strong, and have as much potential, as their present one.

And, though the male would not admit it to any save his mate, the thought of the child meeting an ignoble end… moved him. The brat was HIS. He was HIS to mold and shape and create into the perfect warrior. Miles was HIS Heir. And Eblis was Miles' father. When the time came, the latter would take the former's life, and Eblis would live on through his son. Into eternity…

The dream of every father.

Eblis balanced perfectly on a branch and sniffed the air. Yes: it was that way. He would take the head of his most worthy Prey. It would elevate the small family and prove their strength to the extended Family, and to the Clan as a whole. Eblis Prower's fist clenched tightly and the wood beneath him groaned in protest. His grip relaxed, and his mind cleared. The discipline of his training kicked in.

His mate landed softly next to him.

It galled him that she and he were nearly the same size. Kitsune females were smaller than males. It was the way of things. They just didn't grow as much during the Rutting. But she was of fair build, and of even fairer appearance. She was a mate he didn't deserve. He was skilled in the arts of combat, but physically… he knew he was not the largest. He knew his tails were not the strongest or the most broad. He knew his coat was not the most lustrous, or even his claws and teeth the sharpest.

He was the runt of the Family.

As nobles came, he was… mediocre.

And she had made it clear to the other males during their mutual Turan'ha, many seasons ago, that she wanted him. He wasn't even going to try, but she wanted him. Looking at her out of the corner of his eyes, watching her balance next to him, their kit held close to her, he felt his heart swell with pride. And… and… She caught his eye as he thought about what that other feeling was, and smiled that little knowing smile of hers. He snorted a little too loudly, and looked forward.

"What're you smiling about, woman?" He growled quietly.

She replied after a second. "Nothing, husband."

"Good. We're close." He narrowed his eyes and leaped through the air. He was breathing heavily now, but not from exertion. Anticipation. This was it! Time to prove himself… time to advance his lineage! Runt, was he? They would all soon see the power of his blood. Runt was he? His son, his boy, his Heir… would tear their throats out! He would bathe in their blood, and revel in the cries of their mates and the deaths of their bloodlines! He would be Ephor Anthal!

And more!

Eblis knew this would all come to pass. It was destiny. It was fate! As sure as his dreams of the Prophetic Comet streaking through the sky, he knew that through his son Miles, the Blood of Eblis Se'Prower would shake this world of Mobius to its very foundations!

Where am I?

"How many have I asked to make the ultimate sacrifice?" It was his own voice, but he had never spoken these words. "How many have I manipulated into doing so? There is only one justification for everything I have done, and everything I will do. Transcendence - the belief that there are things more important than any individual life, even my own."

"Can you live with yourself? Doing this?"

What am I?

"Live with myself? Lara, I will exist because of what I now do."

Why am I…?

Miles clung to his mother's fur for dear life.

Inhaling sharply at she made another great leap over the ground, he knew, by sent alone, that they were far from home. It was warmer here, and the forest, though it looked very similar, did not smell the same. It made him nervous, and his grip on his mother got that much tighter. He felt more than heard her huff in annoyance, and stop for a second. He adjusted his position, and felt her comforting hand on his small shoulder – a reassurance that he would not fall. Her twin tails reached up and, even if only for a moment, made him feel like he was back at home.

He then heard his father growl.

They had to keep moving. Young as he was, Miles recognized that. Father was leading them on a Hunt. It wasn't his first, he'd gone on two others since he had been weaned, but this Hunt was different. He wanted ask, but lacked the words. Mother's presence and gentle thoughts helped, but on some primal level, he wanted to be of use. He wanted to know what they were doing and contribute.

In his mind, he heard her.

"There, there, my little tails…"

The name and tone could and would only belong to his mother. Father would never say such a silly thing. He had his own nickname for Miles. He was… he was… what had Father called him?

Heir.

Yes. He was the Heir. He smiled back at Mother, and a second later they took off again. He resolved himself to watch. One day he would help. One day he would Hunt. That day just wasn't today. But that fact no longer bothered him. They knew that, in time, he would take his place by their side

Little Tails…

To me…

The first barrage of fire coincided with a far off explosion.

Caught in mid leap, the two kitsune shifted immediately to the present threat. It was both a conscious decision, and an instinctive one. Momentum through the air unchangeable, they instantly adjusted their balance, and instead of landing on their target branch softly, broke right through it for the cover of the forest floor, and the dense underbrush of the GreatForest. The fire stopped as quickly as it had begun.

The two kitsune sniffed, as one, on a level that shared thoughts and emotions. This was their bond and their link, and it was at its strongest only in battle. Individually, a kitsune was a formidable foe, but in groups their true strength… their pack mentality… became truly manifest.

'What is happening?' The male snarled to his mate, keeping low and behind cover. 'I smell only corpses from that direction!'

'They conceal their scent!' The female answered.

Common sense.

'Damn. How did they know…?'

She shook her head. 'They are going to encircle us. Cut off retreat.'

It took only a moment for a mutual course of action to be settled on. Hands on the ground in front of him, the male howled, and raced forward. Muscles bunched, tendons strained, and mind aflame he charged in the name of his pride, his blood, and his race. Speed had always been Eblis' ally. A thin frame by kitsune standards, it mattered little in a fight against most normal mobians. The claws on his hands and feet dug into the ground as he ran, sliced through bark as he jumped off a tree, and tensed as he finally caught sight of the enemy.

That's right. To me…

"Nothing else matters."

And so I…

Miles felt his mother leap, higher than he had ever known she could, powerful leg muscles propelling her high into the air. Looking down, he saw, over her arm, twin tails swishing in the air. And, further behind, automatic fire tearing through the air. His mind let out a panicked cry, but his mother did not stop, could not stop, moving. Grabbing a high branch, Aurora flipped around, built up her momentum, and shot back down towards the ground.

Everything had gone wrong.

They were all around her, standing in the darkness with glowing green eyes. There were too many to fight; to many to escape from. Eblis had made to attack one of them, and passed right through it. It was like living shadow, except the next instant, the experienced warrior had hissed and flown back, tossed like a rag doll. Aurora couldn't believe it. This wasn't supposed to be happening. Merlin had told her…

Turning, watching the figures all around her, Aurora reached behind her back. Males were forbidden to carry true weapons of war, but the same was not true of kitsune females. When she had heard who their target was – Field Marshal Julian Kintobor of the Mobian Army – it had always been her duty to take the shot that would actually assassinate the overlander. Merlin and the Elders had commanded it, and specifically requested she and Eblis see to it.

"That's pointless…" a voice said, in the language of the kitsune.

She saw him emerge from the shadows. He was kitsune, like her, like Eblis. He held out empty glove-less hands, but his stance and the feeling he gave her sent chills up her spine. She felt Miles clung to her even more tightly, as he too felt it. It was like death. This unassuming kitsune, with plain white tipped tails and a medium build… he was death itself.

"I'm sorry," he said, and Aurora saw something in his blue eyes.

Something familiar.

"But… can you put him down?" he then asked.

She tensed again, her hand around a concealed weapon. Against a regular being of flesh and blood, she would have already drawn, but there was a terrible power washing over her, paralyzing her nerves and making it impossible to move. She knew, deep down, that there was nothing she could do.

"My little tails… I'm going to have to let you go." Tails heard her. "I'll see you again soon."

He shook his head, afraid, and clung to her.

But that little would not deter her. Holding him by the scruff of his neck, she pulled him off, and stepped forward towards the strange kitsune. Looking up, he saw her, standing tall against the dappled light of the canopy above. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled at him.

"I…"

A bright light interrupted her.

Her body jerked back and her head lolled over to face the other kitsune. Tails never got a good look at him, but then his mother jerked again, stumbling back, and he saw two holes in her chest. Her mouth opened, but no sound escaped her lips. One last shot silently shook the forest with light and fury. And then Aurora Se' Prower fell to her knees, and then her side.

Her child never saw her killer; both kitsune had tears running down their cheeks.

Nothing else matters.

"For the future… I have already torn free my heart. For that cause, I would burn away my soul. My commitment is unquestioned. Unwavering. Absolute. That is how I justify my existence…"

An indistinct shape.

"Perfect. Flawless. Miles… you're everything I hoped for. You are ready."

"You know... you're not what I pictured one of your kind being like," Tempest said, leaning back into the chair. "Though... you may be the exception to the rule. I've noticed there seem to be a lot of them around here."

"Yeah, well I guess I am special in one way or another." Nail admitted. "In fact, I'm not even supposed to here at all."

"Ah yes... the whole cloning thing." The Kitsune warrior nodded, remembering what Nail had said before. "I can't imagine it's all that bad. I don't remember being born anyway... so you hardly missed out on anything exciting."

"Still, I feel…" Nail searched for the word. "Awkward sometimes. But being here as really helped feel like I belong somewhere. Guess that's why Athair sent me here."

"You mentioned him before."

"He communes with the Ancient Walkers, and is in many ways their voice in the mortal world. He was the one that taught how to use my powers, when… when I ended up on my own. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps, but I guess Knuckles' genetics won out and I ended up focused as much on fighting as on spirituality."

"Ancient Walkers, eh?" Tempest 'hmfed.' "I've never even heard of them."

"I'd never heard of your gods either, until just recently."

"It isn't like we advertise."

"The Walkers are worshipped mostly by the Lost Tribe, so even among echidna it isn't very widespread outside of Albion."

Tempest inclined his head and saw light streaming in through the window.

"What time is it?"

"Probably around six?"

Tempest turned his head and looked down at Tails. The boy was still unconscious. He thought about what Nail had said, about Tails using some form of Chaos Control to shatter the stone in his hand. He had suspected that the young fox had incredible potential based on how quickly and readily he understood and used the low level telepathic communication between Kitsune, but now… now it looked like he was on the verge of becoming something incredibly powerful. If he survived the sudden explosion of mental powers that wracked his brain over the night, he would one day be formidable indeed, beyond even his normal Chaos Empowered abilities…

"He'll be waking up soon," Tempest guessed. "If I've trained him right."

Nail seemed a bit strained. "Let's hope so."

Tempest tensed as he saw Tails' eyelids slowly open. This was the moment of truth. If the boy had been overwhelmed by his too-quickly developing mind, his eyes would reveal nothing but the rage and hunger of a savage beast. If that occurred, Tempest knew he would have to put what was left of Miles Na'Turo down, for the good of everyone. And then, if that happened, he would tear Nail's throat out, as promised.

Suddenly, Tails' upper body shot up, and his eyes were completely open.

"Tails?" Tempest asked, using the local moniker he seemed to fond of. He tensed to strike. At this angle, one blow to the throat could…. But the young fox just seemed to look at his two trainers for a moment, confused.

"What?" he asked, plainly.

Tempest smiled, and his body relaxed. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

"It was an emotional connection. Anger." Tails craned his neck and looked at Nail. "Not the response you expected, I'd guess?"

Nail also relaxed, and gave a small laugh. "Don't worry about it kid."

Tails got up, shook his head (annoyed by how long his hair was getting) and took a few seconds to arrange and separate the three bangs that fell over his face. He then silently left, heading off to do his daily exercises.

Tempest let out a sigh of obvious relief.

"Looks like a false alarm. Thank the Lords… and Ancient Walkers, if you believe in them. They gave us enough breathing room for a mistake or two, it seems."

The echidna clone just sighed. "Well, that was a …good experience. I almost turned an innocent boy into a rampaging beast... Maybe I'm not as cut out for this trainer job as I thought I was…"

Tempest considered that. "Perhaps. However… I am starting to believe that there are aspects to this boy that I cannot fathom. An intensity to him that is not wholly kitsune, but something else…I would still offer you the chance to teach him what you would, if you will."

Nail nodded solemnly. "I think I'm just going to meditate on that before I have an answer."

"Very well." Tempest, stood up, stretched slightly, and headed for the door. "The boy can handle doing his exercises alone for a few hours…"

Outside, Tails felt his own measure of relief at getting away from his two mentors.

"How unexpected..." he mused as he stretched. "I wonder why they were hovering over me like that? Very strange..."

After stretching, he took a quick run back to his hut, and checked his mail. Opening the little mailbox with the key inside his hut, he confirmed just what he'd suspected. There was predictably little of interest. He'd check his workstation soon, to get on top of the day's real events. The thought of it got his blood pumping. By now, his most recent little project had to be just about near ready for deployment.

He returned to the pool, basking for a moment in the lingering energy that suffused the land all around it, courtesy of the Underwater Ring Generator. Then he began with stretches and some mental and physical focusing exercises. They came like second nature to the young Kitsune. His body felt amazing – powerful - full of energy… He felt like a dynamo, crackling with electricity! Burning with power! Tails went through his exercise regimen not just once, but twice.

Walking over to the Ring Pool, Tails dove in, enjoying the cool water. Floating lazily, he let his mind wander. First to work, but then to the things he tried more often than not to suppress. He felt lucid, like he had back at the bar with Sonic and the rest after a few drinks. Maybe that was why, this time, he let his thoughts stray back into uncomfortable territory.

Females…

A surge of blood shot through his heart at the thought of them. Distantly, deep within the reasoning and dispassionate part of his mind, he realized this was the Turan'ha thinking, not him. It wanted him to find a mate. He laughed quietly at the thought, and decided to, at least for a moment, let the 'Rutting' have its way. His mind surged with memories and feelings, mixed with a sort of cold analysis…

Fiona.

The version he was most familiar with had been a robot, of course. Obviously, as a construct, she had been more style than substance, and had quickly rusted in salt water. He had come back for her, years later, and while he still had a deep fondness for the replicant, it was hard to love her the way she loved him, with such absolute and undivided pre-programmed conviction. He had encountered other Fiona Dolls a year ago, on a mission deep into Robotropolis. They were old models, obsolete, but Robotnick or Snively had scrambled them to help in the defense of the manufacturing facility he had been ordered to destroy. He'd reduced them to scrap, even though they looked like the cute girl he'd once come to love. Only the mission mattered. He had learned that fact by then.

Then there was the real Fiona.

He could still feel her pressed against him, smell her sweat and excitement, and even taste her… But, oh, how he hated her. When she had first come to the Freedom Fighters, trying to leave her mercenary ways behind, he had been all to eager to accept her into their ranks. Then she had taken a liking to Sonic (as if enough women didn't flock to him as it was), and moved in when he and Sally had that break up over King Max and the succession crisis. To Tails' vexation, Sonic seemed to be willing to play along with her. Maybe he just wanted to make Sally jealous (which he did succeed in), or maybe, being a careless fun loving sort of idiot, he had just gone with whatever felt like the most fun at the time.

Then, as if those times hadn't been bad enough, with her snubbing any attempt the young fox made to get to know her better, and Sonic doing nothing to help the situation… then she had defected to join Scourge. Trading Sonic for the Anti-Sonic, and the Freedom Fighters for a life of outright villainy and crime, how often had he watched with despair as the girl he had such high hopes for dashed them time and time again? And now, to have her return, stabbing the Kingdom in the back as she did… it was truly unforgivable. And yet…

Tails shook his head.

'I guess I don't like to lose or admit I was wrong. Even about her.'

Barby.

Then there had been Barby Koala, from Downunda. She had a certain exotic appeal he was much more comfortable analyzing, now. Exotic was the perfect word to describe her… her voice, her looks, her smell… He had been young, and in a foreign land she was like a warrior princess. Of course, she was his elder by a handful of years, and that kangaroo bastard Walt already had his eyes on her. He couldn't exactly stick around in Downunda (he had responsibilities in the north, ironically enough), and so he'd gone back home. It was no matter, however. As a marsupial, Barby wasn't compatible with him. And… she was dead. Shadow had blown a hole through her pretty little head. He no longer felt the urge to cry at the memory; forever burned into his thoughts as it was, but instead felt a rising anger. A building rage. It felt… good…

Amy.

Amy Rose had followed Sonic around since he'd rescued her back on the Little Planet. That was only a few months after Sonic had found his way to West Island, and rescued a young orphan: a two tailed fox with no home, no parents and no future. They'd had an adventure, and then one day Sonic returned with a pink hedgehog hanging onto his arm. She had been a pain then – always getting in the way, or getting captured, and contributing little to nothing except words of encouragement. Still… she had been his age (before she received the Ring of Acorns and became physically a little older), and she had been so kind and friendly, was it any wonder that he had gotten so accustomed of her? Was it any surprise that he worried about her and cared for her? Was it so yiffing outrageous that he had come to… love her?

He growled.

He reminded himself that he didn't care.

Cream.

Truthfully, it was a bit of a surprise he even thought about Cream. She seemed to like him, and he was comfortable enough around her. She had a strong sense of commitment to the cause, like Barby, and unlike Fiona and Amy, she thought of others before herself. He hadn't hung around her that long, but she'd seemed nice enough, fun to be around, and she was smart enough to realize what she did and didn't know. She was pretty, too, in a kinky sort of way that reminded him of Bunnie. Maybe it was that. Or maybe it was that she was the kind of girl he should have liked, and should have been happy with.

Except he couldn't be.

He refused it.

He wasn't normal, and he never would be. He could never settle down. And he couldn't have someone looking at him like he was a hero. Sonic was a hero.

'I'm…'

"Nothing else matters." The words haunted him.

He couldn't love her, and so he didn't want to be loved. He didn't want a girl chasing after him, or pining for him, or waiting for him, or praying for his safety. What he felt for Cream was an animal attraction… it was lust, and it was the selfish joy of being doted on. That was not what she deserved. It was something no female really deserved. He could never love her; he could never give her children or a family or any of the other wonderful things in life. He would hurt her. That much was certain. He would hurt her like Amy had hurt him. Like Fiona had destroyed him.

"Enough…" He hissed, cutting the thoughts short.

Mental discipline kicked in, and the thoughts vanished. Thankfully, he had enough willpower to cut the offending pattern of thought short. It was foolish to dwell on the females in the area as actual mates. He would just have to maintain his self-control over that aspect of the Turan'ha until he reached the northlands of his Clan. There, perhaps… he could find a mate. A female to share a hearth, to hunt with, and give him an Heir. And that would be it.

What was more important was focusing on the broader picture.

The Grand Scheme.

This power he had been given was his birthright, and he had every intention of using it. The enemies of his survival, as well as the survival of those who had been like his family, were numerous and powerful. Robotnick, Snively and Shadow had been turning what was left of Robotropolis into a Fortress, while collecting Chaos Emeralds for some new and deadly scheme. They had to be stopped. Permanently. Hidden somewhere else in the mountains, Mastermind plotted his own rise to power and had a small army of overlanders and mutated monstrosities at his command. Even on far off Angel Island, the Dark Legion and a potentially resurgent Mammoth Mogul loomed large. They all had to be defeated. That wasn't even counting the damn Rogues recently leap into the fray.

They all had to… die…

Didn't they?

Certainly, he knew that Sally and the rest had never considered murder or assassination an acceptable tactic, except by 'accident.' Even as they aimed to cripple and dispose Robotnick, they had never targeted him directly. So many had died already. What was one more, especially if it would affect the ending of hostilities? He was only flesh and blood; flesh could be easily torn, and blood easily spilt. Why not?

Why not just kill him and all those like him?

Tails stared up, and saw a sky littered – no: dirty – with clouds.

"That's the truth, isn't it? It takes a wind… a great wind…" he held up his hand and swept it across the heavens. "To clear the sky..."

--Notes Chapter 4--

Not a tremendous amount of action in this Chapter, sadly. I thought very seriously about cutting out the Tempest and Nail fight scene, simply because I wanted to trim OCs as much as possible from the Reload of ACO, but in the end I kept it. I did want a little fighting in there, and it was something from the very first drafts of the story. I ultimately changed it a lot, though… to make it less silly. The original read too much like the back and forth "I beat up your character then yours beats mine up" stupidness of multi-author round robins. Even after being cut down in the first draft, it was too annoying. This time, I tried to cut even more of the fat, leaving us with something useful.

So: Nail. Another OC. Like Rush, this one was created by the COA precursor fanfic's co-author. Who (I don't think) ever used the character anywhere else. Nail himself has changed a great deal from that original incarnation. Like Tempest, he exists to "train" Tails and basically stand as an example of what not to be. Except with Nail, Tails dislikes him from the get go. Nail is pacifistic, overly spiritual and superstitious, and often very vague. He stands in for Athair, who I originally wanted to just show up and help in person (except now he exists partly on a higher plane and doesn't bother anymore, thanks comics).

Like before, the OC scenes kind of annoy me, looking back on them, but that's pretty much always the case when I write fanfics that have them. The "Keionah" tale was another carryover from the old original story. I also got to dip into some Blaze and Silver writing, which was nice, as I tried to ease those characters more and more into the story.

I'm pleased with how this chapter came out. It covered the bases I wanted it to.